GRAVITY Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq:GRVY) ("Gravity" or "Company"), an online
game developer and publisher based in South Korea, today announced that
it signed an agreement on September 28, 2010 to acquire a 50.8% equity
interest in Barunson Interactive Co., Ltd. ("Barunson Interactive"), an
online game developer based in Korea. The purchase price is KRW 11,688
million (approximately US$10,126 thousand). The closing of transaction
is expected to occur on or about October 25, 2010 subject to customary
closing condition. Upon closing of the purchase of the shares, Gravity
will acquire control over the management of Barunson Interactive and
will be in a position to appoint the majority of the board of directors
of Barunson Interactive. Gravity announced that the purpose of the
transaction is to strengthen its online game development capabilities
and secure quality online game line up.
Barunson Interactive was founded in 2003 and currently has two
massively multiplayer online role playing games ("MMORPGs) commercially
offered, Dragonica and Dragonraja, and one MMORPG under development.
Dragonica, a three-dimensional side scrolling MMORPG, is commercially
serviced in 10 countries including China, Japan and European countries.
Gravity entered into a license agreement for Dragonica in the United
States and Canada on August 17, 2010.
Mr. Toshiro Ohno, the President and CEO of Gravity, commented, "We
expect this transaction will create significant value for Gravity and
its shareholders as Barunson Interactive has talented online game
developers with great experience. We believe it represents an important
step forward to secure continuous profit by diversifying our revenue
source and create synergy from the two companies' online game
development teams."
About GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
Based in Korea, Gravity is a developer and publisher of online games.
Gravity's principal product, Ragnarok Online(TM), is a popular online
game in many markets, including Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, and is
currently commercially offered in 59 markets. For more information
about Gravity, please visit http://www.gravity.co.kr.
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release may include, in addition to
historical information, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may,"
"will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe"
"project," or "continue" or the negative thereof or other similar
words, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
Investors should consider the information contained in our submissions
and filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC"), including our registration statement on Form F-1, as
amended, and our annual reports on Form 20-F, together with such other
documents that we may submit to or file with the SEC from time to time,
on Form 6-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of this press
release and we assume no duty to update them to reflect new, changing
or unanticipated events or circumstances.
This release can also be viewed at
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com/newsroom
CONTACT: GRAVITY Co., Ltd.
Mr. Heung Gon Kim, Chief Financial Officer
kheung@gravity.co.kr
Ms. Yoon Joo Lee, IR Manager
+82-2-2132-7800
yoonjoo.lee@gravity.co.kr